''A Fable of Tonight'' is a FantasticNoir series by author Creator/MikeResnick. The first novel in the series, ''Stalking the Unicorn'' was published in 1987 as part of the fantasy noir boom that also launched the long-running ''Literature/GarrettPI'' series and ''Literature/WhoCensoredRogerRabbit''.

PrivateDetective John Justin Mallory is hired by an elf to find a missing unicorn is an alternate version of Manhattan populated by all sorts of magical creatures and ends up running afoul of The Grundy, that world's ultimate crime boss (who also happens to be a demon. In the end he ends up sacrificing his chance to go home in order to keep the Grundy from entering our world and sets up shop in a world where he is often literally the OnlySaneMan.

The series contains three novels:* ''Stalking the Unicorn''* ''Stalking the Vampire''* ''Stalking the Dragon''

There are also numerous short stories, several of which will be collected and published in the upcoming volume ''Stalking the Zombie.''----!!''A Fable of Tonight'' has examples of:

* AnythingThatMoves: Mürgenstürm from the first book.* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Felina* BelligerentSexualTension: John and Felina's schtick, even though he denies anything romantic about their relationship. * BigBad: The Grundy, he's not only a crime boss, he's his world's equivalent of {{Satan}}.* BigEater: Felina.* BlackAndWhiteMorality: John is relieved to live in a world where the lines between good and evil are (usually) more clearly defined.* CatGirl: Felina, who often fills in as Mallory's own personal FemmeFatale as well as his "secretary."* ClingyJealousGirl: Felina, in ''Stalking the Dragon'' she almost gets into a cat-fight with a cell phone over John. ItMakesSenseInContext. * {{Cloudcuckooland}}: The alternate Manhattan* ChekhovsGun: Early in the first book John buys a pistol that spends most of the story just sitting in his pocket. [[spoiler: He uses it to kill Flypaper Gillespie.]]* TheChessmaster: John, once he finally manages to gather all the pieces.* CoolOldLady: Colonel Winnifred Curruthers.* DeadpanSnarker: John Justin Mallory. [[CatsAreSnarkers Felina]] to a lesser extent.* DeathIsCheap: Between vampires, zombies, and who knows what else, few people stay dead in Manhattan for very long. One man in ''Stalking the Vampire'' takes extra precautions to make sure he stays dead in order to escape his overbearing wife.* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The Grundy's main flaw is that he often cannot follow John Justin's reasoning or motivations because he's so completely evil while John is fundamentally decent. It's especially important in the first book because [[spoiler: He's utterly incapable of believing or understanding why John would seal away an incredibly powerful magic ruby in his own world, thus trapping himself in the alternate Manhattan.]] It leaves then at a stalemate for the rest of the series.* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The novels each take place over the course of a single night. The short stories sometimes only cover a couple of hours.* FullNameBasis: Most characters constantly refer to John by his first and middle names, while the narration almost always just calls him [[LastNameBasis Mallory]].* FriendlyEnemy: The Grundy considers John this. John isn't nearly as fond of him. * FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Pretty much all vampires (with a few exceptions) are decent folks just trying to get by. They don't turn people against their will and try to avoid biting people in the first place, preferring to buy blood by the gallon at local blood banks or barring that living on cow's blood obtained at butcher's shops.* {{Glomp}}: Felina does this to John all the time.* GuileHero: John Justin usually solves the case without ever throwing a punch or drawing his gun, preferring to bluff and outsmart his enemies into doing a lot of his work for him.* HardboiledDetective: John Justin Mallory* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: Each of the novels take place over a major holiday, specifically New Year's Eve, Halloween, and Valentine's Day (respectively).* InsistentTerminology: Felina often demands that John "skritch" between her shoulder blades and will become quite petulant if he ''scratches'' instead. * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Mystery writer Scaly Jim remarks that he might have to adapt John's case into a novel called ''[[TitleDrop Stalking The Vampire]]''. John remarks that [[ItsBeenDone he thinks that title has been done]]. Jim retorts that it hasn't in ''this'' Manhattan.* MsFanservice: Felina. The first book makes it clear how cat-like and flexible she is when she casually sits down and starts licking her own thigh. She also has a habit of laying across John's desk.* OnlySaneMan: John Justin Mallory. It's noted that in a world as crazy as his sanity has its advantages, and he often uses the insanity surrounding him to his advantage. * OurGnomesAreWeirder: They're hairy little troglodytes who live on subway tokens.* OurVampiresAreDifferent: For one thing they can survive in sunlight (though not comfortably) and can live quite comfortably entirely on animal blood. The only hard an fast rule is that they must sleep in their native soil (although their own unwashed sheets will work in a pinch).* RapidFireComedy* RealWomenHaveCurves: Felina is described as having 'curves in places where other girls don't have places'.* RetiredBadass: Colonel Winnifred Carruthers. John coaxes her out of retirement to be his partner.* RightHandCat: Felina for John.* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: John repeatedly denies anything that may or may not be going on between him and Felina.* [[SittingSexyOnAPiano Sitting Sexy On A Desk]]: Felina does this all the time.* TrappedInAnotherWorld: John at the end of the first book. He accepts it astoundingly quickly.* ShipTease: John Justin between both Winnifred and Felina. He will often treat the former to dinner (in one case intending to do so on ''Valentine's Day''), and (practically) lives with the other his office despite having an apartment (with her frequently sprawled across his desk, demanding to be "skritched"). He also becomes embarrassed if Felina rubs against him while purring in public.* StrictlyFormula: Although the plot itself changes from story-to-story there are always a few recurring bits that keep popping up. For example: Every story starts and ends in the office, John consulting the Grundy for any useful input or information (of which he usually receives none), Felina always accompanies John in his investigation (often demanding outrageous amounts of live animals for her to eat in exchange for her cooperation), John encountering a trio of cowardly guards who make excuses rather than facing Felina, and John outwitting his opponents to the point where they don't even put up a fight.* UndyingLoyalty: Despite her constant claims that she will desert him at her earliest convenience Felina sticks with John through thick and thin.* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler: Subverted in the first book as John shoots [[TheDragon Flypaper Gillespie]] as soon as it's convenient.]]* WorthyOpponent: The Grundy considers John Justin this. The feeling isn't mutual.----